Transport research projects receive € 484m in EU funding

The EU's TEN-T programme has awarded 75 research and innovation projects a total of € 484m in research grants, aiming to make Europe's transport systems greener, safer, and more competitive.

All transport modes are covered including road, rail, water, and air transport, as well as environmentally friendly vehicles, intelligent transport systems (ITS), and improvements to logistics and freight systems.

Numerous projects are concerned with sustainable urban mobility, such as the € 4m Silver Stream project which will develop safe electric vehicles to improve the mobility of elderly people in European cities.

The € 6m ELIPTIC project will upgrade and optimise electric public transport infrastructure in 12 European cities, while the € 5m XCYCLE project will improve cycling safety through technological interventions.

Other projects include the development of a 100 per cent electric ferry in Denmark, a system to optimise efficiency in air travel and developing co-operative ITS systems.

Under Horizon 2020, the EU's € 80bn research and innovation programme, € 6.3bn has been earmarked for transport research. The TEN-T programme will fund € 2.9bn of this amount, funding around 400 projects with an average size of € 7m.